Today Duke Long posted the last in a rage-y, highly critical series on the trouble with Commercial Real Estate Recruiting. The issue is a sticky one - how to bring the best and brightest into an established, largely opaque and off-line industry whose customers are increasingly tech savvy and demand ever-higher levels of transparency and access on-line.

Burn it Down or Build it Up? While Both HBR and McKinsey offer solutions to build teams equipped for today's markets, Duke's post is purely, coarsely critical. Long is himself a dyed-in-the-wool Broker who came up through the ranks he critiques, before transitioning to the tech world. Unapologetic - Long describes his series as a rant, the "in your face reality" a lightening rod necessary to draw attention where it is needed.

Did it work? Well, we're writing about it here and you are reading - so perhaps. Long highlights several issues that are spot-on: the importance of an open attitude towards younger generations, analytical data-driven hiring processes, proactive search for diverse and tech-savvy talent from a range of educational backgrounds, a work culture that enables collaboration, learning from any and all sources - especially customers, embracing ambition, and management by results rather than "dues paid." But his text reads negative and often, just plain mean.

Long says he would love to highlight examples of excellence in recruiting - but doesn't know of any. "It’s easy to sit back and rant about was is and never will work. It’s even harder to actually do it and do it right... Is there Hope? Honestly, I don’t think so."

Links to all four of Duke Long's Recruiting posts and highlights below. As always, welcome your thoughts and suggestions - especially those with a examples of contemporary CRE recruiting gone right...

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1. Part 1: On Attitude: "The constant whining that “the other” generation has no work ethic and no values. The pathetic sense that you and only you really know how to do business."On Recruiting Process: "Only looking at the boys from the school you attended. You went there so it must be awesome. Why look anywhere else? Only maybe but not really looking at anyone female. Unless the are “hot” as hell or a “bulldog” if they are both then they may have a shot..."

2. Part 2: On Getting to know the 'target': Gen Y is "continually connected, skeptical of authority, they skim read and take in information very quickly, influenced by their peers, they seek recognition and fame. All the world is indeed a stage and they have access to it, are expressive and digitally creative. They embrace a variety of sub-cultures. Think anything but Lilly white boomer culture"On Wanting Gen Y: "This generation can is and will be taking over the workforce. That means taking over you your business and your job. They are going to do it their way. NOT your way.How are you possibly going to recruit these people? Do you even want to? Of course not. That’s why you suck at it."

3. Part 3: On Workplace: "peer-to-peer collaboration. They want to look outside the office for ideas from everyone. It’s about work integration. Work any place any where any time. They have their own measurement. It’s called results."On Tech: "They will go get it and use whatever technology is necessary to get it done."

4. Part 4: Is There Hope?On Talking vs. Doing: "It’s easy to sit back and rant about was is and never will work. It’s even harder to actually do it and do it right."